>> "inside washington" is brought you in part by the american federation of government employees, oud make america work. for more information about afge and membership, visit afge.o.org. >> america i never said this would be easy. >> this week on "inside washgton," president obama makes his case for a second act. >> yes our path is harder, but it leads to a better place.. yes, our road is longer, b but we travel it together. we don't turn back, we leave no one behind. >> his supporting cast. >> for barackk, success is

not about how much money you make it is about the difference you make in people's lives. >> this man has courage in his heart and a spine of steel. >> on day one, they came after women's health and have not let up since. >> a and a big dog i is back. >> we simply cannot afforord to give the reins of government to someone who would doub down on trickle-down. captioned by t the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> i don't want to bore you with the nbers, but i will start there. as of friday morng, the real clear politics averages were presidident obama 46 by 7%, mitt

romney 46.7%. they are ststatistically tied in a battle ground states as well. 2/3 of the american peoplee think that the country is headed in the wrong d direction we learne that the jobless rate is 8.1%, down from 8.3 but stillot good. this during oratory from the deocratic convention in chararlotte aside president obama has a mountain to climb in this election. you were there roger. how high is the mountain? >> i think he built a few mountains for th republicans regardlessss o of the lling, of which ii am not th greatest fan in the world.. what the democrats did in three days an almost flawless conventinvon except for a bauble on the platform, was to bring their own pararty together, energize it, get out the vote d making the important casting

of the parties. they tass the republican party as the party of complaint and defefeat that was selling america short. take the hard path to lead us to the right afterpath. >> charles, that the convention you watch?? >> no, i saw a completelyly different one. i saw a party n not talk about the present, not talk about the consequences of its policies. it couldn't. it talked about empathy. this is all about empat. the only reason obama is not 20 points behind, which he should be on the basis of his record, is that there's this huge empathy gap. this is all about empathy, log cabin or engines, and that is the only way obama can win.

they put on a hell of a show. a lot of tetears in the audience. >> colby, tell me about the convention you watched. >> i was not in the same universe as charles -- >> well,l, you live in a completed in world. [l[laughter] and you drink the kool-d isn't that your favovorite drink -- >> well, you are off to a good start, charles street i think the convention went very wl. i don't think it was just a matter of e empathy. they mention things that they consider to be achievements. they cannot avoid the affordable health care at -- they did not avoid the affordable health care act. the gender gap was widened by the great display of some of the speakers.

they were all very good and substantive. i don't see it the way charles c. is i -- sees it. >> i caught up with mark shields on the hot crowded streets of charlotte. >> democrats have to make a choice. is it refendum on whether or obama is de a good job and deserves another term -- they are in trouble. . >> what are you going to do for us the next fourur years? did you get an answer to that? >> i was absolutely stunned. that was one of th emptiest spches i h have heard on a nationaltage. he not only did not talk about the past, and incidentally, if he is so proud of his record, his three great legislati attempts -- obamacare, stimulus, cap-antrade, no mention whatsoever.

he cannot speak about the past he cannospeak about his own agenda which liberalss like but the country doesn't. and when he tal about the futurere he pulled the numbers out a hat. milln people on retraining. these are n numbers invented. he did not explain once. he did not say once what programs, what policies, but he would do to achieve these numbers he would pull out of assad. i founded astonishingly lazy and, as he would say, and complete as an acctance speech -- incomplplete as an acceptance speech. >> did he tell us about the next four years, roger? >> in many important respects he did. he talked about medicare and how the republicans would turn it into a v vouchercare.

he was talking about the future. charles accurately pinpoint the empathy gap. the difficul for romney is that there is no he p-romney movement in the country. there is a sizable anti-oma movement in the country. when obama's gets into that feeling, it boosts him and it sinks romney. >> colby? >> i thoughtht one oflinton's linenes hit home. the amouount of hate that t republicans haveor barack obama just astouing. it is not just polical differences, it is really visceral hatatred and you hear it week after week, day after day momment after moment througugh ththe fox crowd. >> that is complete r rubbish. i have not heard one republican

use language that the leader of the cafornia delegation use in describing paul ryan as the goebbels of our time. he had to excuse himself and returned home after that because a previously scheduled or canal. >> if f you are atattempting to say you have not heard visceral hatred expressed for barack obama, then we just -- mamaybybe i ll stop the show. > let's not, just to be ni to me. you're on timeout leo! some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof! some things will. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

[ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation every solution comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. o0 c1 you're on timeout leo!

some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof! some things will. >> when you work hard and have done well and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you.u. nono, you reachack. >> i thought michelle obama did an enormously effective job without ever mentioning mitt romney's name, without mentioning the fact at there was a republican party or republican n nominee for president. i dramatically andraphically drawawg the differences between these individuals particularly theieir life storyry and how their values have been formed. >> chaes, yoyour turn. >> how much did you h have to pay for that studio space? it is impressive. >> cost a fortune.

[laughter] >> michelle obama -- i thought it was a brilliantly cynical speech, done a marvelously. the theme was that he loves his fe, his children, his family, therefore hehe loves everybody. i by the first three -- i think he is a terrific guy in that way. but the argumenent,t, if it is an gument -- it was all anecdotes' -- is because there is this evanempathy -- thihis is a guy who is extremely ideological and ambitious. he this of himself as world- historical. to pretend ass she did it successfully, that there is nothing of that in him is a marvel. >> "brilliantly y cynical."

>> i just cannot belie he is going after the man's wife. i cannot believe he did that. >> because she is a woman? >> would you o offer s similar mments about ann romney's -- >> it was a different speech by different woman. >> did andhe ao talked about her husband, feelings empathy -- >> you say and -- >> the obamassakes, they did nothing right. i ampared to accept that from you charles. therere's nothing they could that would make you happy. maybe they should just die -- >> break it up, roger. >> sasha and malia are fine human beings. seriously, i think that michelle

obama did a fine speech, ann romney did, too. but i thought michelle obama brought ito a new level when she said that the presidency does not change who you are it reveals who you are. th was her point. look at how the president h acted the last four years. look at how mitt romney has behaved as a candidate. is he telling us about his past? is he telling us aut h tax returns? is he telling us about the swiss bank accounts? >> she did not say that. >> no, but t implicati might have been there. >> i don't aept the sexist assumption that i'm m required to have the same reactiono any woman any spouse giving a speech. second, i think the ann romney speech was less effective than the michelle obama speech. she had a rifff about how much

she loves wom. i thought was unnecessary and sounded forced. the part in which she spoke about her r husband w effecve but warmin him up is harder than warming up obama. >> but cynical? >> oh, yes.. of course it was cynical. that fridge in your kitchen may have crossed this bridge. your new car probably rode these rails. that shipment you just received was tracked

by satellite. we build and maintain. we invest and innovate. so we can deliver what america needs. this year alone, freight rail companies plan to spend twenty-three billion of their own money, not taxpayer dollars, to build bridges, maintain track, and develop new technologies to keep freight rail and our economy moving. there's a lot riding on these rails. anncr: this casino's in west virginia. but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to bld a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative... services, hundreds of millions for our schools. while saving taxpayer money by cutting casino subsidies. question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. nonot west virginia. this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure construction,

production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪ ♪ >> the democratic partyy established itself relentlessly through the end johnny one-note man for that they arehe pro- abortion party pro-same-sex marria p party. people are worried a lot more about the economy the debt,t, and growth, their kids' f future. this is a message to try to engage emotionally passionately, and actively

purchase women in voting for rack obama. -- pro-choice women in voting for barack obama. >> johnny one-note onn abortion and contraception, roger. do you agree wi that? >> i think the party h has portrayed ititself as a party that cares about women instead of making war onn women. women are more than 50% of the vote and vote in greater proportions to the population and then it to m. mitt romney has a 20% gap with women. that means he's getting 20% fewer women votes than barack obama is. that is perhaps s the most important voting bloc in america. >> charlrleses? >> i am stl struck by how much -- you must have spent a fortune on all those extras. and it looooked so spontanus. >> walking down the stet --

>> look, this win and stuff -- there were two excellent spches selius and rahm emanuel. neither was in prime time, nobody saw it but they are exact what you want i can mention -- focused and sha did her thing was defending obamare and she didxtremely well, and rahmm said that i w was at the scene when he saved the west, eentily. in a little bit of a tall tale but he did it. the worst speech was -- sandra fluke is her name? the civil-rights issue for time is thahat she ought to have on this day for contraceptives. remarkably entitled- have others pay for contraceptives. remarkably entitled an unpealing argument. >> i thought one of the effective moments of the

convnvention was in the tin can in the segment where they -- the ted kennedy the segment where they should the dete between ted kennedy and mititt romney where mitt romney declared his unswerng commitmt to a woman's right to choose, and he did not want to interfere with that. look at where he is now look at his platform. what more canan you say about this? >>he wderful line -- "i am pro-choice, governor romney is a multiplehoice." >> has anything changed? >> what's changed is the way the country looks at abortion 2 20 years later. it is the e socicial issuer the country has moved right. 50% of americans are self- described pro choice, 10% more than pro-life. >> i'mi'm sorry, i got that wronong. half are pro-life, and that is more than pro-choice, which is a

real change from the 20 years ago we saw in that clip. >> [ male announcer ] as the economy gets worse, barack obama calls on bill clinton to help his failing campaign. [ clinton ] it's about t which candide is more lily to return us to full ployment. [ male announcer ] he's good soldier helping his party's president. but what did bill clinton say about barack obama in 2008? give me a break. this whole thing is the biggest fairytale i have ever seen. [ male announc ] 23 million americans struggling for work. a middle class falling further behind. give me a break. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

>> i want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside. [appuse] and, by the way after last night, iana man who had the good sense to marry michelle obama.

[applause] >> bill clinton in a rare formm nominating a man who defeated hillary clinton i a brutal primary fight four years ago. whwho could of imagined such a thing, colby? with bill clinton, there is no limit. i'venown him since he was governor of arkansas. i like watching him in public, i i like wchg him in private. this guy is unbelievable, and he has this man is and that connects with people -- he has this magnetism that connects with people. it was very effective for what he had to do. he just carried the day. >> you saw that speech and you thought, boy that old dog can ststill do it. when i saw him hugging bara obama on stage, i thought to myself, this may be the hug thahat

relax a president. charles s be exactctly on point twice today. he talkeabout the empathy gap between obama and romney how mrs. romney had a hardrder time warming her husband up than michelle did. you don' vote for a guguy you n't like. >> you are a psychiatrist. here arere two tigers in a a cage. do they hug on the stage like e this? >> i am a psychiatrist in remission. [laughter] clinton is a wonder of the world. we have this incredible performer. >> who was impeached. >> and here he is. but i thought that the speech was ineffective in promoting obama. it was all about clinton, and he was vintage.

he spoke 50 minutes anhe was getting into it. he went on these riffs. by the end, i have expected him to say "you know, i have second though." [laughter] "i withdraw the nomination of barackbama i place myself in nomination, and for those of you constitutional sticklers, how about my wife?" i would have loved the roll call on that. it would have been close. >> colby? >> after that speech, bill clinton went to another gathing and d held forth for another 20 minutes. >> remember when he and gore were on the bus. you could nenever get them back on the bubecacause he wanted to talk to everybody in every town in america. >> he worked the rope line after the speech. it drove his staff crazy. he said "there are people here

today with small children who would say youet the president on that day." what ever you want to say about how he conducted himself, he had an important and elevated view the office of the presidency. >> i am not sure that is exactly how he conducted himself with the office of the presidency, which in the end t disgrace. >> finally, a word from mark shields. hohow many of these have you cover? >> this is my 21st national conventi. you still enjoying it? >> i enjoyed it too much. i'm a person in the early stags -- late stages of earl senility, and i am enjoying it. that's ted strickland! did you hear the speech he gave st night? >> the most popular people at the democratic convention,

chelle obama and mark shields. the most popular of e republicanonvention, paul ryan ancharles krauthammer or. last word. see you next week. >> "inside wasngton" is brought you in part by the american federation of government employees, proud to make america work. for more inforormation about ae and membership, visit afge.org.